I see you! Nantli came bounding from the side. She barked and chirped and rubbed her cheek against his face, nearly knocking him over.
Laughing, he said, “Yes, lovely, I missed you, too.” He patted her neck. “Let’s go see where the other track leads.”
She sat on her haunches. Are you sure?
I am. And you will be with me, so we should be safe enough.
She tilted her head. That is true.
Tell Coatl that we found where they stored the supplies to build the tracks. Have him tell Master Gella and Fillion to go right at the cross-track, that we are now following it that direction to see where it goes.
After a moment, she let out a rumbling laugh. Coatl says Fillion is upset that we are finding all the good things. They are going much faster now to get here.
That’s well and good, but remind them that they still need to test for traps. I only cleared from where I entered. He headed for the steps down to the tunnels. Let’s go.
The glow over his shoulder cast an enormous shadow on the left wall from Nantli as they walked along the tracks.
She blew air out her nose and shook her head. The smell is not very pleasant, is it?
He patted her shoulder. It isn’t so bad for me, but your sense of smell is stronger.
The other direction was much the same. Rubbish-strewn and dark, with the new tracks, shiny metal rails gleaming, looking very out of place. He’d found no more traps, thus far, either. Perhaps that one was the only one? It had certainly slowed him down by forcing him to test for more.
They are at the cross-track.
He grunted. They really had picked up their pace.
The tracks end ahead.
Oh? He squinted, but could not see much beyond the end of the glow’s illumination.
Holding up his hand between the globe of light on his shoulder and his eyes helped a little. The faint gleam of some kind of illumination came from far ahead. With a grunt, he led them on, though a bit faster.
It was an open access hole. Sunlight shining down from it lit up the wall, the metal rung ladder, and a cart sitting on the tracks.
He turned to Nantli. Are there any people nearby?
Not many.
Do you sense any thoughts about that cart, or stolen money?
I do not.
So the thieves were probably not around anymore. Tell Coatl we found the exit from the tunnels and a cart of some kind.
Master Gella and Fillion are running, now.
Their pounding footsteps were actually audible. He turned and saw two distant glows bobbing in the darkness.
Both breathed heavily for a bit after they arrived. Surprisingly, Master Gella was the first to recover.
She lifted something out of the cart, a cloth bag. “This is from the armored wagon.” There was lettering on the bag. ‘First Trust Bank.’
She looked up at the access opening. “They must have transferred the coins to their own containers and lifted them out. Lugging around these bags would have been more than a little suspicious.”
Chanté frowned. “So, they got away, then.”
The light from the access hole dimmed when Coatl poked his head down. He let out a disgusted bark. It smells bad.
Fillion looked up. “Move your head, leather bag. You’re blocking the light.”
With an annoyed rumble, Coatl pulled his head out of the way.
Master Gella stared at the opening for a moment, then eyed the bag in her hands. “Dragons have much more acute senses than we do, don’t they?”
Fillion nodded. “Yeah.”
She grabbed a few more bags from the cart and tossed them to Fillion. “Have Coatl smell those. There should be matching scents on the ground up there from the thieves that handled the bags. See if he can follow those scents.”
Fillion raised his brows. “Like a tracking hound?”
Master Gella nodded. “Hopefully.”
Fillion tucked the bags under an arm and climbed up and out the access hole.
A moment later, his voice came from above. “He says he can follow these!”
Master Gella began climbing the rungs. She paused and looked down. “You two head back out however you got her down here. I’ll go with Fillion to see where these scents lead. Once outside, you can join us.”
Chanté nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He turned to Nantli. Let’s get back to building and get out of here.
With a little rumble, Nantli followed. I guess Coatl and Fillion get to find some good things, now.
He chuckled. Well, we did find where they worked on the tracks and where they escaped from the tunnels.
True.
When he and Nantli caught up to them, the three stood at the side of a street. Nantli set down next to Coatl. Passersby slowed to watch them.
Chanté called down from the saddle. “Any luck?”
Fillion, looking upset, said, “Every trail Coatl followed ended at the side of a street.”
“The only theory we came up with to explain that,” Master Gella said, “is that the thieves all took cabs.”
“Once they got into a cabriolet,” Fillion said, “their scent trail along the ground ended. And the scent in the air is gone because it’s been so long since they left.”
Chanté sighed. “So they really have gotten away.”
“It would seem so.” Master Gella scowled. “As carefully as this robbery was planned, I doubt the perpetrators will be careless, but I’ll have my people start visiting banks to search for large deposits. I’ll also have them keep an ear to the ground for any news in other channels.”
“You should also search for anyone who made recent large purchases of materials,” Chanté said. “Materials that could have been used to build those tracks. And find out who owns that building where the construction was based out of.”
Master Gella nodded. “I plan to.”
“We should probably get back to the bank,” Fillion said. “To give them the bad news, and to see about those records on Insurgo Industries. And don’t forget,” his expression brightened, “we still have the driver of the carriage in that fake accident to question.”
“That’s true.” Master Gella turned to Chanté. “Thank you for your assistance. I think that’s all for now. Be sure to thank Guildmaster Millinith for me when you get back.”
“Of course.”
She climbed into Coatl’s saddle behind Fillion.
Chanté watched them lift into the sky.
I feel sad, too.
He sighed. I wish there was more that we could have done to find the thieves.
Our part is complete. We should head back home.
He glanced down at Nantli.
Home. The word hadn’t really meant anything to him as Ulthis. There wasn’t really a place where he’d ‘lived.’ But he did have a home now. They both did.
Yeah. Let’s go home, lovely.
+ + + + +
Fillion had to force himself to stop grinding his teeth, to relax his clenching jaws. If Gregor were here, he’d chide him for that.
‘It damages your teeth. Do you want me to have to feed you soft foods in your later years?’
It annoyed him to be scolded like that every time he ground his teeth, but the fact that Gregor thought they would be together in their later years, well, that always did crazy things to Fillion’s heart and chest.
Focus, Fillion!
He shook his head. Those damn thieves had so far gotten away with the robbery. But hopefully, that would not be the case for long. It would have been nice if they hadn’t been in the middle of another major investigation when it happened, though.
Someone in the building is very upset.
Fillion glanced at the work being done on the new entrance into the police headquarters. Oh?
She is making others upset, too.
Fillion hopped down and told Master Gella.
“Having upset people in this building is not unusual.”
When they reached the special investigat
or floor, a voice came down the hallway from the right.
“I don’t care! I demand to speak to one of the special investigators at once!”
Master Gella frowned and headed toward the voices.
“Ma’am, if you attempt to go down the hallway again, we will forcibly restrain you.”
“Excuse me? Do you know who I am?”
“Do you know who we are? You bandy the words ‘special investigator’ about as if you do, but mayhap—”
They rounded the corner of the hallway and Master Gella said, “May I help you?”
Four people stood about the reception desk at the side of the hallway, two women and two men.
The older woman turned to them. “I demand to know what the special investigators are doing about the armored wagon robbery.”
Master Gella tilted her head. “And you are?”
“Lady Helena. That wagon was transporting the payroll for one of my companies.”
“I see.” Master Gella nodded to the three people who then shifted out of their ready stances. “If you would please come this way, Lady Helena?”
The woman gave a sharp look to those near the desk, then approached and followed when Master Gella headed back the other direction.
The woman glanced sideways as they walked along. “Who might you be?”
“Head Special Investigator Gella.”
The woman, apparently satisfied, said nothing more.
Master Gella led them to a different meeting room, this one about halfway down the main hallway.
Gesturing to a chair at the small table, she said, “Please. Have a seat.”
With a glance at Fillion—looks of annoyance and confusion crossed her face—she sat.
Master Gella sat opposite, and Fillion sat directly to the master investigator’s right.
“Lady Helena, those who robbed the armored wagon were very well prepared.” She explained only some of what they’d discovered and suspected. “I’m not at liberty to tell you everything, but those are the salient points. As per usual in cases like this, the police will handle most of the investigation going forward.”
Lady Helena sat forward. “They are useless! I want your group looking into it.”
“The only reason I’m involved at all is that we happened to be at the bank when the unknown assailants seized the armored wagon. Robberies are not normally in our investigative purview.”
“I don’t care. I want you on this case. I can shift funds from elsewhere to cover in the meantime, but if the stolen payroll is never recovered, it may put my company behind in one or more projects. I don’t want to give the Tigridia Consortium a chance to take advantage.”
Fillion frowned. This woman was starting to remind him of Lord Eldin. Did she think the tides themselves ebbed and flowed according to her every wish?
“Unfortunately,” Master Gella said, “your wants and our duties don’t coincide.”
Lady Helena’s face became flushed. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to conduct business of any real size in this city if you weren’t born into one of the consortium families? Stronghold Steel must be able to supply Continental Transportation for their rail line expansions!”
Master Gella raised her hands. “The police are in charge. But as a courtesy to them, we will continue to pursue certain leads we discovered.” She sat back and crossed her arms. “There are aspects of this crime that make me suspect it may be more than a common robbery.”
“I see.” Lady Helena’s face had returned to a more normal color. “Well, I suppose that as long as you are assisting, that should suffice.”
Afterward, they escorted Lady Helena down to the exit, which surprised Fillion.
Watching her leave, he said, “Why didn’t you get someone else to show her out?”
“We were coming down here anyway, and I figured it would be best to make sure she actually left.”
“We were coming down here?”
Master Gella turned to him. “How close does Coatl have to be to someone to be able to sense their thoughts?”
The question caught him off guard. “Ah, well, powerful feelings can be felt from farther away, but for thoughts I would say something like fifty or sixty feet, maybe. Why?” Not even a second later, the reason came to him. “The driver!”
Master Gella smiled. “Indeed. If I recall correctly, the questioning rooms are on the west side of this floor. Have Coatl drop to the alley on that side of the building so he can listen in.”
Fillion eagerly did so.
The alley is a little narrow.
Can you land there safely?
I can, but I will need to be careful. Oh! There is a cat! Eagerness came through the link and Fillion felt Coatl set down quickly.
He smiled to himself. Don’t scare the poor thing.
She is not scared, she purrs!
While it’s nice that you’ve made a new friend, don’t forget to listen in on that man’s thoughts.
I will not forget.
Fillion chuckled and looked at Master Gella. “He’s ready.”
“Good.”
The majority of the first floor at the police headquarters was open. Desks filled up almost the entirety of the space, though there did seem to be offices of some kind or another along the perimeter. Nearly everyone here seemed to be wearing a police uniform. Officers walked about, some more quickly than others, and a few sat behind desks flipping through folders or sheets of paper, or talking with someone seated across the desk from them.
Master Gella turned to a long counter near the entrance doors. Five officers sat behind it, assisting people who walked in off the street. She spoke with one of the officers there.
“The carriage driver you asked to be detained? Let me check the logbook.” The officer flipped through a large notebook. She ran her finger along a page and said, “Ah, he’s in questioning room six. He’s been held there for you since they brought him in.”
Master Gella nodded. “Thank you.”
Not knowing where anything in this place was, Fillion continued to follow her.
The man looked up when the door opened. His gaze flicked between them, then settled on Master Gella. Blank of expression, he sat behind the table, waiting.
There was only one chair in front of the table. Master Gella sat in it, hands clasped before her.
Fillion closed the door, crossed his arms, and leaned back against the wall.
The square room was small and windowless. At a guess, it was perhaps eight feet on a side. The place was barely large enough for the furniture. A single fixture shone its feeble illumination down on the table. Its light globe definitely needed changing soon.
Can you sense him?
I can. He is a little nervous, but patient.
“We followed the tracks in the storm tunnels to the exit,” Master Gella said.
The man blinked and continued to stare at her.
He is confused. He does not know what Master Gella speaks of.
Fillion raised a brow. “You didn’t know about the tracks? How interesting.”
The man glanced at Fillion, eyes narrowed.
Master Gella said, “Do you even know what the wagon carried?”
His nostrils flared and his gaze returned to her.
He thinks of money.
“Ah,” Fillion said, “so you knew of the money, but do you know where it was taken?”
Again, the man looked at Fillion. Muscles in the man’s jaw started to twitch, and a crease appeared between his brows.
Does he think of the money? Where they took it?
He does not.
“A pity,” Fillion said. “If you had known what had become of it, that would have made our jobs a bit easier.”
His eyes widened a touch. He lowered his gaze and he stared at a spot on the table before him.
The man’s worry is much stronger. He wonders who you are and how you know so much.
“It seems we caught a little fish,” Master Gella said.
Th
e man’s expression cleared and the muscles in his jaw stilled.
He is a little happy.
Is he, now.
“That’s too bad,” Fillion said. “Someone more important might know something of the reasons behind the robbery. Was it merely for the money? There was a great deal of care and effort put into it, however, so I would have guessed that there was more to all of this.”
He thinks of a man, of two men, and of many buildings.
I see.
Fillion was about to ask a question, but a quiet sound drew his attention.
Master Gella reached into her jacket and removed the ether writer. After a moment, she stood and turned to him. “We have to go.”
Fillion frowned—the man knew more!—but followed her out.
He closed the door behind and whispered, “He isn’t as little a fish as you think. He knows of two men, they must be important, and of several buildings. They could be bases of operations for the people who seized the wagon. If we spend more time in there, I can probably sketch the men and buildings with Coatl’s help.”
“Excellent. We can do that once we return. High Lady Hasana sent for me, so I need you to take me to Delcimaar.”
“Oh. Okay, sure.” That might actually work to their advantage. It would give the man time to think more on Fillion’s uncanny ability to learn things from him. The more nervous the man was, the less secure his thoughts might be.
Fillion followed Master Gella back to the front counter. She spoke to an officer for a moment, then they headed back upstairs.
He smiled. Once she was done with her meeting, they’d return for more questioning. He’d bring a sketchbook and several pencils with him and have Coatl show him the images. Then they’d see about catching those thieves!
+ + + + +
Tobin frowned. Lord Koen hadn’t arrived yet. Just like the man to demand everyone be on time for meetings, but not him! Oh no, rules didn’t apply to those of his standing. Even with the other tasks Tobin had, he was able to make the time to get to these meetings as scheduled. The least Koen could do was to—
“I’m not sure what is keeping Lord Koen,” Cadoc said, “but you can give me your report and I’ll update him when he arrives.”
Of Gods, Trees, and a Sapling: Dragonlinked Chronicles Volume 4 Page 46